U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is giving his two cents on the Allegheny National Forest’s battle against an invasive forest pest that threatens millions of dollars in timber harvest revenue.
On Wednesday, Casey issued a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell urging a study to protect the Allegheny against the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive forest species that has devastated hemlock trees in the southern Appalachian forests. Casey said the species threatens to destroy hemlock trees, a key component of the Allegheny National Forest’s ecology and economy, with timber sold from the Allegheny valued at $7.2 million during fiscal year 2012, and as high as $25.6 million over the last decade.
Specifically, Casey is asking the Forest Service to study whether woolly adelgid control measures successfully employed in other parts of the country might also work on the Allegheny.
Among the successful invasive species strategies is a method involving use of a predator beetle to biologically and naturally control the woolly adelgid.
“I urge the Forest Service to conduct further research with a beetle, Laricobius osakensis, to biologically control the hemlock woolly adelgid. At this time, there is a similar study occurring in the Southeastern United States and I feel that the Allegheny National Forest would be important for further study of this issue,” Casey writes.
“The preliminary research from a program in West Virginia and Virginia demonstrates that the ANF could benefit from a similar program. The concentration of the HWA may be lower in the ANF than in other parts of the country but this program could prevent the deterioration of hemlocks in the ANF. I understand it may take years before the populations of beetles increase enough to naturally control HWA infestations, but these initial results are encouraging.”
On Tuesday, conservation and forestry groups held a workshop at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford to go over hemlock woolly adelgid suppression efforts. A similar workshop was held in Warren on Wednesday night.
These include chemical treatments, the introduction of predatory insects like the Laricobius osakensis and improved identification of infestations. All are limited by resource constraints.
According to the group, the woolly adelgid has been detected in Cook Forest and Clear Creek state parks and parts of the Allegheny National Forest, including the Clarion River, Allegheny River, Webb’s Ferry and Tionesta Research and Scenic Natural Areas.
Casey said protections are needed for the eastern hemlock tree, Pennsylvania’s official tree, as well as the Allegheny, which he calls “one of Pennsylvania’s great natural treasures.”
Spanning approximately 517,000 acres, the Allegheny is spread across four Pennsylvanian counties — Forest, Elk, McKean and Warren.
